Manila, May 8 -- The Presidential Communications Office (PCO) and the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) will push for the passage of the Freedom of Information (FOI) bill in the 20th Congress.

In a statement on Wednesday, the DBM said a series of roundtable discussions with various stakeholders were held to advance the passage of the FOI bill.

Representatives from government, civil society, academe, and the private sector shared their insights and perspectives to fine-tune the measure's salient provisions, according to the DBM statement.

"The discussions focused on several critical areas, including the bill's scope and coverage, request processing timelines, FOI officers' responsibilities, exemptions, limitations, appeals, over...